I read a post by Sarah on another board where she said that she and Terrance were not able to do decoy duty in Moscow. Seems they had to use their Visas on the trip from Delhi to Almaty when they few into and out of Moscow. Maybe she will see this and do some elaboration for us. I would like to know what she and Terrance did for 4-5 days and where production parked them till Portland. Did she tell any of you guys that went to TARcon?

They did use their visas in transiting through Moscow on the way to Almaty. The real question was what would production have done had they NOT been eliminated, that could have been a huge problem. We might have had TWO teams unable to progress.

They went on to Portland, they were there a couple of days ahead of the teams.

Thought I mentioned this somewhere in spoilers, but maybe not. We may need a "loose ends" thread!

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RFF's Golden Rule:Have RESPECT for each other, regardless of opinion. This of course includes no flaming/insulting other users and/or their posts.

Russian visas are very very strict. When Dallas lost his passport, it was the VISA that was the problem, not the passport. Replacing a visa is very complicated and can take up to 20 days. Visas are what entitle you to enter a country, and in the case of Russia, you also have to have one to LEAVE the country.

SO the way I understand it, T/S had a Visa for Russia of course. But when they flew thru Moscow on the way to Almaty (which they were not supposed to do), their passports were stamped as they transited the airport (despite in progress negotiations on the spot), which means that their visa (one entry--one exit) had been used, and they would not have had a current, valid visa to enter Moscow had they not been eliminated.

It may have been unlikely that a new visa could have been obtained in time for them to enter again....

And they could not of course enter Russia for the decoy duty either.

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RFF's Golden Rule:Have RESPECT for each other, regardless of opinion. This of course includes no flaming/insulting other users and/or their posts.

Since I didnt talk to those involved, I would assume that T/S had to use both terminals at SVO (Sheremetyevo International Airport) when they went to Moscow, enroute from Delhi to Almaty. The flight from Delhi would have probably deplaned at SVO-2, the internationa terminal. The flight from Moscow to Almaty would have probably left from SVO-1/SVO-C, the domestic /international terminal on the opposite side of the airport, causing them to have to "enter and leave" Russia to switch terminals. That uses up the one time entry and exit provisions of the visa. I hope this makes more sense.

From reading the website for SVO, they are trying to get a temp "transit visa" instituted for occurances like this. I bet their flim crew had the same problem. So that was 4 people that Production had to shake their heads at....lol

It is funny in a way, Toni and Dallas couldn't get out and Terrance and Sarah couldn't get in Russia. That's one of the very reasons I love TAR. When human beings are involved, plans never seem to work out the way you plan them.

Dr. Rox sometimes at major airports you have to exit, then go through reentry in the SAME terminal. This happened to me in July at Dusseldorf. I would think that Moscow-Sheremetyevo to Almaty would leave from the same terminal that Delhi to SVO came in. changing to the domestic terminal, which I think is unlikely for a flight to Kazakhstan, may not have triggered the via use.

Dr. Rox sometimes at major airports you have to exit, then go through reentry in the SAME terminal. This happened to me in July at Dusseldorf. I would think that Moscow-Sheremetyevo to Almaty would leave from the same terminal that Delhi to SVO came in. changing to the domestic terminal, which I think is unlikely for a flight to Kazakhstan, may not have triggered the via use.

As you state, the u-turn through immigration is always a possiblity. In this case I believe that is impossible. Without a doubt, the Aeroflot DEL-MOS flight terminated at SVO-2. In the episode, T/S purchase their ticket from Aeroflot. The problem is, there are no airlines that fly from SVO-2 to Almaty. There are two airlines that fly from SVO-C to Almaty. They are Air Astana and Transaero. I have no idea which one T/S flew on, but they would have had to make a 15-20 minute taxi ride around to the other side of the airport to the SVO Terminal 1/C complex from SVO-2 terminal complex. They do have a shuttle bus that connects the two sides of the airport. Wikipedia has a very good description of Sheremetyevo International Airport at this link:

The two terminal complexes at Sheremetyevo are the Terminal 1(Domestic) and Terminal C (short haul internationl), adjacent to one another, on the north side of the airport and Terminal 2 (long haul international) on the south side of the airport. The Terminal 1/ C complex and Terminal 2 complex are separated by the airports two runways. From Wikipedia, "There is no physical connection between the two terminals; they are essentially separate airports using the same set of runways. Such a layout is rather unusual worldwide; Perth Airport in Western Australia and Davao International Airport in Davao City, Philippines are other examples."

Here is a satelite photo of Moscow Sheremetyevo International Airport, with the terminals marked.

The Wikipedia article also lists the airlines that serve SVO and which terminal they use. It also lists the cities that those airlines fly to from each terminal. Checking with the individual airlines websites, corroborates this information. The only two airlines that fly from SVO to ALA are Air Astana and Transaero and the both fly from Terminal C. Since Terminal C opened in Jan of 08, it would have been in operation in May 08 when TAR13 was being filmed. Whether or not those airlines were operating out of that terminal in May, I have no way to check at this time. I do not know how to go back in time and check on airline flights. I do have a life long friend that is a big wig for Sabre Systems that will be home at Xmas and I will ask him if there is a way to search for that info.

The only people that know the real answer is T/S and that is why I posted this question in this thread. Hopefully, Sarah will see it sometime and fill us in on this little mystery.

In the interim before Sarah responds, your initiative, research and conclusions are very welcome, Dr. Rox. There are not a lot of options since Almaty is definitely not a domestic flight(although it used to be). After arrival at Terminal 2 from Delhi, you show that all one can do is to leave from Terminal 2 or from Terminal C.

Russian visas are very very strict. When Dallas lost his passport, it was the VISA that was the problem, not the passport. Replacing a visa is very complicated and can take up to 20 days. Visas are what entitle you to enter a country, and in the case of Russia, you also have to have one to LEAVE the country.

SO the way I understand it, T/S had a Visa for Russia of course. But when they flew thru Moscow on the way to Almaty (which they were not supposed to do), their passports were stamped as they transited the airport (despite in progress negotiations on the spot), which means that their visa (one entry--one exit) had been used, and they would not have had a current, valid visa to enter Moscow had they not been eliminated.

It may have been unlikely that a new visa could have been obtained in time for them to enter again....

And they could not of course enter Russia for the decoy duty either.

Thanks, I get it now! I didn't know they were only one time visit passes. I'm no expert on that kind of stuff.

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"The authority of example and considerations of character, unlike pudding, are not whipped up in an instant." - Neal A. Maxwell

I AWOKE with anxiety on March 14, 2008. Not because I had any idea that the Federal Reserve and J. P. Morgan would eventually take over Bear Stearns, but because it was my birthday, which I look forward to all year. What’s more, I had recently learned that I had been cast as a contestant on the coming season of “The Amazing Race.” My happiness over that, though, had been darkened by my boss’s earlier comment: “Well, I certainly hope you don’t get it.”

My complete ignorance of what the day would bring will stick with me forever. We had heard rumors of trouble at the bank all week, but management had assured us there was no substance behind them, and we all took them at their word. We “Bear guys” were hard-working and loyal. Many of my colleagues had dedicated their entire careers to the bank and boasted about never having sold any of the stock they were awarded as part of their annual compensation packages.

So on that Friday, my birthday, I was thrilled to go to work. I even decided to celebrate a bit by forgoing my usual black pantsuit for a black silk blouse covered in red flowers. But when I arrived at the office, I quickly realized that something was wrong. My boss was watching the news, stone-faced, rather than walking the trading floor or chatting on the phone with clients as he normally did. My colleagues and I spent most of the morning crowded in my boss’s office struggling to digest the news as it came in, comparing rumors we were hearing from friends at other banks.

The traumatic collapse did have one silver lining: I was now free to participate in “The Amazing Race.” I had been wrestling with how to convince my boss to allow me to spend a few weeks circling the globe on international television. That Friday at about 3 p.m., the decision was made for me. My boss turned to me and said, “At least now you have a TV career to look forward to.”

A few months later, I took off on my race around the world — an adventure that took me to seven countries and ended several weeks later when I was eliminated in Kazakhstan.

Each episode of “The Amazing Race” ends with teams rushing to an interim finish line, and sharing their impressions of the country where they’ve just competed. In Cambodia, where we raced through the temples of Angkor Wat, I talked about meeting peaceful monks and poor villagers whose routines were so different from my life back in New York. It then struck me that I actually had little idea of what “my life back in New York” was like anymore.

I still look forward to my birthday, but it has been tainted. The red-flowered shirt hangs in my closet, reminding me of my naïveté.

Sarah Leshner is a senior analyst at Blue Orchid Finance and a former vice president of emerging markets at Bear Stearns.

You do not have your information correct. First of all, the speeding ticket for Andy/Laura was between Dunedin and Queenstown on the South island of New Zealand maybe 600 to 700 miles from Auckland. Second, the speeding ticket that Terence/Sarah got was on the drive between Summerhill Farm in the Tauranga area on the North Island and Auckland airport.

What you could have said but did not was that Starr/Nick also got a ticket in that same stretch between Summerhill Farm and Auckland airport. It was revealed by them in Question and Answers regarding that leg from reporters, but it was not shown on the broadcast of that leg.

I like what I see from this team because Terence is a runner's coach and so you know he's shape and has good endurance. But Sarah is on WallStreet and is usually the only female in meetings and going into third-world countries where sometimes women aren't treated equally, she will not back down.